3 Mistakes You Are Making When Flossing

Flossing your teeth is very important. Some people even say it is just as important as brushing!  But, it is also important to floss correctly. Here are a few mistakes a lot of people make when flossing:

1. You Don’t

This is probably the biggest mistake out of the three. According to the American Dental Association, only four out of ten Americans floss every day, and 20% of Americans never floss. But, there is an easy fix to this. All you have to do is start flossing! Now, that may sound easy, but actually putting it into your routine is pretty difficult.

Why is that the case? Taking 4 minutes out of your day to brush your teeth seems so easy, but adding another minute or two to floss seems like such a hassle for most people.

I’m still trying to figure out the answer to this myself. I never used to floss. Brushing for two minutes twice a day wasn’t an issue, but flossing always seemed like so much work. And I always thought I could get away with just flossing once right before my dental appointment.

But, this all changed once I realized how bad not flossing can be. There are spots in between your teeth and underneath your gums where your toothbrush can’t reach. This allows bacteria to build up even if you can’t see it. And this can eventually lead to serious problems, and you may end up losing your teeth!

I don’t know about you but I think it is worth it to avoid any problems down the road by taking the extra time to floss every day.

2. You Don’t Use Enough

If you are like most people, you probably want to conserve your floss by using as little as possible every time. But, from personal experience, I found that you can actually end up wasting floss by trying to conserve it.

Many times, I would try to conserve floss by breaking off a small strand and end up having to throw it away because it simply wasn’t long enough. But, If I had just used a longer strand in the first place, I wouldn’t be wasting any floss.

According to the American Dental Association, you should use about 18 inches of floss and wrap it around each of your middle fingers.

3. You’re Doing it Wrong

Flossing can’t be that complicated right? Well, it isn’t, but it can still be easy to get wrong.

The problem is that nobody tells you how to floss! Everyone simply says “Make sure you floss every night” and they expect you to do it perfectly every time.

So, how should you be flossing?

The best way to floss is to use something dentists like to call the “C shape” technique.

Essentially, you should curve the floss into a “C” shape against the side of your tooth and gently rub the floss up and down, keeping it pressed against your tooth. And you should see the floss go slightly under your gums, as this is a common place where plaque likes to hide.

You should be doing this on every front and back surface of your teeth, even the ones that are in the very back! (This may take some practice to help reach that far).

If you are having trouble maneuvering the floss around your mouth, you should speak with your dentist about alternatives to traditional flossing.

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